


Our One and Only

by smolwoozinugget



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mentioned SEVENTEEN Ensemble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:27:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28371603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolwoozinugget/pseuds/smolwoozinugget
Summary: Based on a Pinterest Prompt:“I was always taught to put others first.”“Yes…but this time if you don’t take care of you, there won’t be a you to care for others.”
Relationships: Lee Jihoon | Woozi/Wen Jun Hui | Jun, Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Kudos: 41





	Our One and Only

Backstage of this week’s broadcast, Seventeen gathered to get ready for their performance to promote their latest comeback. It was the middle of winter, freezing cold, and 4:30 in the morning. Most of the members were fighting sleep without the benefit of food, caffeine, or warmth as they were made up for the stage; some were even dozing in the stylists’ chairs.

One member, however, was practically running from person to person, everyone from other members to staff, offering coffee and blankets if they were wanted. He frantically rushed the requested items to each person with a bright smile, and slowly everyone started waking up. 

Hardly anyone thanked him, but he was used to that, especially this early in the morning. 

At 5:30, he was called to have his own makeup done, and he rushed to the chair, sitting as still as possible to make the job easier for the stylists. He was the last member, as usual, but it also meant he could immediately get dressed for their stage at 6:15. He kept the happiness flowing, hoping it masked how tired he was. 

He’d only gotten two hours of sleep the night before, but no one had caught why. 

They completed their performance; it was 7am. They had 2 interviews and a guest performance on other broadcasts, and only an hour to get ready. The same person helped with loading the equipment and other members into the vans, completely missing Seungkwan handing out food and coffee from inside the vocal unit van. 

But that was normal; he usually didn’t get to eat when they were busy like this, and no one ever noticed. Idols were supposed to be skinny, anyway, or so he was told. 

The group went through the day, rhythmically working through all their schedules before heading back to the building to practice more. By this point, he was dragging his feet to the van. It was 17:00. He still hadn’t eaten, had barely had a chance to drink water, had hardly sat down all day. Any second, he expected to collapse from sheer exhaustion, and he craved nothing more than rest.

Instead, he put a smile on his face and threw his arm around Joshua, who was making some weird joke about rice. His exhaustion could wait, the others were more important right now.

By 21:30, he’d finally had the chance to eat, but his dinner had been eaten standing at the kitchen counter, reviewing schedules and choreography. It was easy to forget these things, he knew, and then you’re trapped in an interview when you planned to be asleep. Sipping his water, he listened to the sound of laughter coming from the living room, where the 95z and 97z were playing video games. Vernon, Seungkwan, and Chan were off looking at memes or something, he wasn’t sure anymore. He wasn’t sure the last time he’d eaten with the others, or had food that wasn’t cold from sitting while he worked. In fact, he couldn’t really remember the last time he’d had a conversation with another member that wasn’t either work related or him helping someone else.

Really, he couldn’t remember much at that moment, he was too dizzy. 

Jihoon heard the crash and came running, finding his groupmate unconscious on the kitchen floor. He was followed by Minghao, who was apparently on the way to get snacks when the other boy collapsed. They slowly shook him awake, seeing that he wasn’t injured from his fall. 

“What happened?” Minghao asked, clearly concerned.

The dazed man shook his head. “I’m not sure, one minute I was standing at the counter eating noodles, the next, I was waking up on the floor. How long was I out?”

“About 30 seconds,” Jihoon replied, feeling the other’s forehead. “You’re not warm, and you don’t look sick, just pale. How much have you had to drink today?”

At this, he sighed, drooping his head to his chest and mumbling something.

“What?”

“One water bottle.”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah.”

Jihoon rocked back on his feet, shoving Minghao out to go get Gatorade from the store, before turning to grab some soda and snacks from the cabinet, shoving the food at the boy on the floor.

“Here, I’m guessing you probably haven’t eaten much either. What were you thinking?” He scolded harshly. Uncapping the soda, he held it up for his groupmate to drink. 

“I- I can’t- Please just go…“ Pushing the soda away, the other shoved himself into the wall, collapsing into his own frame, becoming as small as possible. Jihoon was stumped. What had he said? Watching his friend shake with sobs sent stabbing pain through him, but he didn’t even know what the issue was, much less how to help.

“Hey, what’s wrong? What aren’t you telling me?” He tried to make his voice as soft, as caring, as he could, hoping it had the intended effect. Judging by the way his groupmate unrolled himself, it apparently worked.

The boy sniffled, looking equal parts sad, scared, and embarrassed. “Nothing, it’s fine, just stressed.” He made a move to get up, but didn’t have the strength. 

Jihoon sighed. “Look, you might not want to tell me, but you need to take better care of yourself. You’re not leaving this kitchen unti-“

“I was always taught to put others first.”

“What?”

The other looked at him, clearly frustrated. “I was always taught to put others first, okay?” Hitting his fist on the floor, he continued. “I feel like a background character, you know, one that does a lot but never gets credit. Like last night, do you remember where your shirt for today was when you went to bed?” 

“In the laundry?”

“Right. Where was it this morning?”

Realization struck Jihoon in the gut like a sucker punch. “In my closet…you didn’t…oh my gosh you didn’t. You should have been sleeping!”

“Yeah, well, someone had to do the laundry, it was piled up, and everyone else was already in bed. Besides, all of our clothes for today were in the pile. You know we would have gotten scolded if they weren’t clean this morning.” Taking a deep breath and a sip from his drink, the hurt boy continued his story. “And then this morning, at the broadcast, everyone had coffee and blankets while they were getting ready, but I was the one getting it for them. Two people, just two, thanked me. I love the others, and I know they’d never be hurtful on purpose, but that stung pretty bad. I also wasn’t able to have either for myself, which was fine, because I was last anyway. When Seungkwan was giving out food between schedules, I was the only person who didn’t get some, because I was helping the staff load the van. After practice today, while you guys were eating, I was cleaning the dorm, because it was nasty, and after you ate, I cleaned the kitchen. This,” He motioned to the cold noodles and chicken on the counter, “Is the first thing I’ve eaten today.” 

Taking another sip of his drink, he suddenly felt guilty for unloading on Jihoon, who had been one of the two to thank him, who often came home exhausted. But instead of being upset, the smaller boy just sighed, walked over, and plopped down right next to his friend.

“Look, I can already see it on your face, you feel guilty for being hurt. You need to stop that. Thank you for opening up, and I promise to do my part to change things around here. You can’t be staying up so late, doing so much, eating and drinking so little. It’s not healthy. Why are you doing this?” 

“I already told you, I was always taught to put others first.”

“Yes…but if you don’t take care of yourself, there won’t be a “you” to care for others.” Jihoon rubbed the other’s arm, trying to maintain a calm tone. In truth, he was mad at himself for not noticing. “Okay, right now we’re gonna sit here until you drink that down and eat something decent, not just cold noodles. Then you’re going to go get a shower and go to bed. Tomorrow we’ll talk to the others. But starting this instant, you’re going to learn to take care of yourself. Got it?”

The other nodded, sipping his drink before putting his head on Jihoon’s shoulder and closing his eyes. 

“That’s good, because you’re our only Wen Junhui. We can’t lose you.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first story that I've ever published anywhere, so I hope y'all enjoy <3  
> ALSO! This is not meant to put any of the members in a bad light, so please don't take it that way!  
> Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @junhuisnugget


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